Shovel



(No Model.)

J. KUBITZKI.

SHOVEL Patented Dec. '6, 1892.-

gvwewcoz (IJ nKuZi/tzkc}, 3&3 at 134! UNITED STATES PATENT @FFIQE.

JOHANN KUBITZKI, OF LA OROSSE, WISCONSIN.

SHOVEL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 487,534, dated December 6, 1892.

Application filed July 21, 1892. Serial No. 440,850. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J OHANN KUBITZKI, a citizen of the United States, residing at La Crosse, in the county of La Crosse, State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shovels; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to shovels which are especially adapted for use in connection with railway-crossings to facilitate the removal of snow, dirt, and other foreign matter from the cracks between the rails and the planking. The shovel in its construction is also adapted for ordinary uses,and particularly as a snowshovel, on the removal of the tongue which is provided to clear the space between the rails and planking.

The improvement consists of the novel features and the peculiar construction and combination of the parts, which will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed, and which are shown in the annexed drawings, in which Figure 1 is a front view of a shovel embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a rear view of said shovel. Fig. 3 is a side or edge view, and Fig.4:is an end view, of the shovel shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

The shovel comprises the handle 0 and the blade D, which are of usual construction. The tongue A is secured to the rear side of the blade and p roj ects beyond the edge thereof a proper distance and terminates in a square edge. This tongue is composed of two parts: a blade A, which tapers slightly in thickness throughout its length, being thickest at its lower or active end, and a wooden reinforce A which is located in the rear of said blade A. A shoulder a is provided near the lower end of the tongue or the blade portion A to receive the lower edge of the shovel-blade D. The portions A and A are secured together and to the shovel-blade by means of bolts B, in such a manner that the said tongue A may be readily removed from the said shovel-blade and attached thereto when required. The upper ends of the parts A and A form a shoulder against which the lower end of the handle 0 abuts, thereby forming, in effect, a continuous brace or stay on the rear side of the shovel-blade. The upper portion of the shovel-blade is preferably formed of wood, and its lower end is strengthened and reinforced by the cutting-blade E, which is divided along its upper edge to receive the tapering end of the wooden portion, the latter being constructed to enter the space between the separated parts of said cutting-blade E, as most clearly shown in Fig. 3.

It will be observed that the active or cutting head of the shovel-blade is straight and of considerable length, the same as any ordinary snow-shovel. Itwill be further noticed that the tongue A is located midway between the edges of said shovel-blade, and that the lower end of said tongue is beveled from the rear side to a chisel-edge. The reinforce A not only strengthens the shovel-blade and the blade portions A, but also facilitates the action of the shovel when used to remove snow and other foreign matter from the space between the planking and the rail, in that it serves as a shoe for the shovel to glide upon and form a fulcrum when using the shovel as a pry to remove said foreign matter from the space between the rails and planking. WVhen the tongue A is removed, the shovel can be used in the usual manner.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. As an improved article of manufacture, a shovel for simultaneously removing foreign matter from the cracks between the rails and the planking and from the said planking on either side of the rail, having a tongueprojected from its lower edge and terminating in a broad square edge to enter the said crack, and having the lower edge of the said shovel in a straight line and extending on each side of the said tongue at right angles thereto to touch the planking on either side of the rail, said tongue having its front side flush with the front face or bottom of the shovel, substantially as specified.

2. The herein-described shovel, composed of the blade D, having its lower. end reinforced by a cutting-blade, a handle 0, having and a reinforce, substantially as described,

its lower end bolted to the rear side of the for the purpose specified. I0 shovel-blade, the tongue A, adapted to be re- In testimonywhereof I aifix my signature in movably attached to the shovel-blade and presence of two witnesses.

5 having its upper end abutting against the JOHANN KUBI'IZKI.

lower end of the handle and having its lower Vitnesses: end projecting beyond the shovel-blade, said JOHN JACOB ESCH,

tongue being composed of a cutting-blade WALTER CLARENCE WINTER. 

